Alan Partridge in the OED

There are many places you might expect to find a quotation from Alan Partridge – perhaps on the North Norfolk Digital website or in the Norwich Evening News expressing his views on the pedestrianization of the city centre – but the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is probably not the first place you’d look. However, quotations from Linton Travel Tavern’s best customer feature in not one but seven OED entries. Back of the net.

Partridge, who expressed surprise that a Currys shop assistant didn’t have ‘a basic grasp of Latin’ and who chastised his friend Michael for ‘hanging around with a man who uses a collective term for a single vehicle’, would no doubt be proud to be a part of the historical record of the English language. Here are the seven entries in the OED which feature quotations from the self-proclaimed national treasure.

Comments

“My cousin did once buy a pirated Tweenie from a covered market in Brondell.”

It’s actually Brundell. “Stop getting Partridge wrong!!” :)

oxfordwords

Hello,

Thanks very much for taking the time to comment.

The quotation you refer to was taken from ‘Alan Partridge:
Every Ruddy Word’ which has ‘Brondell’ rather than ‘Brundell’.

Best wishes,

Oxford Dictionaries

James Harland

I actually happen to have the book to hand with me right now, ISBN 0-141-01526-8 and it correctly states “Brundall” :) Photo attached.

oxfordwords

So it does! I’ll ask our editorial team to investigate.
Best wishes,
Oxford Dictionaries

oxfordwords

Having looked at this a bit more closely, it seems that we took our quotation from the first edition, where it says ‘Brondell’. This was clearly revised in the later paperback edition.
Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
Best wishes,
Oxford Dictionaries